The present invention relates to a rear vehicle-body structure of an automotive vehicle with a storing-type roof, in which a rear openable body, such as a deck cover to open or close an upper side of a roof storing compartment or a rear roof to open or close an upper side of a cabin, is provided at a vehicle-body rear portion.
A structure in which an opening/closing device (20) to openably move a lid member (15) as the deck cover is provided at the vehicle-body rear portion is known as the above-described rear vehicle-body structure of an automotive vehicle with a storing-type roof as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-11674, for example.
The opening/closing device (20) of the above-described patent document comprises a drive mechanism (30), a drive arm (41) which is made to swing by the drive mechanism (30), and a link member (46) which is connected to a lower portion of the lid member (15) and a free end of the drive arm (41).
Herein, when a collision object hits against the automotive vehicle from behind in a vehicle rear collision, a vehicle-body component, such as a rear wheelhouse, which is provided at the vehicle-body rear portion, for example, is deformed upward relative to a vehicle-body rear end portion, such as a rear bumper, by being compressed by the collision object. That is, the vehicle-body rear portion of the many vehicles is provided with an upward-displacement portion which is configured to be displaced upward when the vehicle-body rear portion is deformed in the vehicle rear collision, like a top portion (an upper end) of the rear wheelhouse. For example, a portion which is positioned in back of the top portion of the rear wheelhouse is displaced such that a rearward side thereof lowers relative to a forward side thereof in accordance with upward displacement of the upward-displacement portion of the top portion in the vehicle rear collision.
The drive mechanism (30) provided at the opening/closing device (20) of the above-described patent document is provided in back of the top portion (the upward-displacement portion) of the rear wheelhouse, and the lid member (15) is supported at the opening/closing device (20) (see FIG. 2 in the patent document).
Accordingly, when the top portion of the rear wheelhouse is displaced upward as the rear wheelhouse is deformed in a ridge-folding shape in the vehicle rear collision, for example, the lid member (15) which is supported at a position located in back of the top portion via the opening/closing device (20) tends to have a specified position in which its rearward side lowers relative to its forward side. That is, there is a concern that the lid member (15) may tend to be displaced such that it directly interferes with the collision object which comes in from a vehicle rearward side in the vehicle rear collision.
If the lid member (15) collides with the collision object in the vehicle rear collision, the lid member (15) may get broken or detached from the vehicle body. Accordingly, in a case where the lid member (15) is made large-sized by expanding its rear part rearward or by arranging it closely to the vehicle-body rear end, some countermeasures may be needed.
Herein, while a support structure in which the rear openable body is support at a higher level may be considered as such countermeasures of preventing interference of the lid member (15) with the collision object in the vehicle rear collision, there is a concern that the rear openable body may become unstable because the gravity enter of the rear openable body becomes higher. Further, while component parts of the rear openable body, such as the link member (46), are required to be reinforced for securing the support rigidity sufficient enough to support the rear openable body at the higher level, there is a problem that the opening/closing device (20) may become improperly heavy and/or large-sized.
In particular, for a certain type of automotive vehicle with a storing-type roof which requires high sportiveness or preference by decreasing the aerodynamic resistance or lowering the vehicle height, the large-sized rear openable body may improperly increase a risk of its direct interference with the collision object in the vehicle rear collision. Meanwhile, if the rear openable body is supported at the higher level by the link member for avoiding the above-described interference with the collision object in the vehicle rear collision, the support burden of the link member increases, so the countermeasures for the above-described problem may be further needed.
The inventors of the present invention paid attention to a manner of deformation of the vehicle-body rear portion in the vehicle collision, and realized to elevate the rear openable body by utilizing the upward-displacement portion which is provided at the vehicle-body rear portion to be displaced upward.
In the case of the opening/closing device (20) of the above-described patent document, however, the lid member (15) is supported by the link member (46) expanding upward even in its closed position, so that there is a concern that the link member (46) may be improperly rotated downward in its rotational range by an impact of the deformation of the rear wheelhouse in the vehicle rear collision.
Since the push-up energy which the opening/closing device (20) receives from the rear wheelhouse is absorbed by the above-described rotation of the link member (46), there is a concern that the lid member (15) may not be elevated sufficiently in the vehicle rear collision, so that the lid member (15) may interfere with the collision object coming in from the vehicle rearward side. Accordingly, the problem of the vehicle body becoming heavy and/or large-sized despite reinforcing the link member or the like may happen, so that further countermeasures may be required.